We have no reason to harbor any mistrust against our world, for it is not against us. lf it has terrors, they are our terrors. lf it has abysses, these abysses belong to us. lf there are dangers, we must try to love them, and only if we could arrange our lives in accordance with the principle that tells us that we must always trust in the difficult, then what now appears to us to be alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience.

How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races- the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses. Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are only princesses waiting for us to act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.

So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises before you larger than any you've ever seen; if an anxiety like light and cloud shadows moves over your hands and everything that you do. You must realize that something has happened to you. Life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hands and will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you.

Martha Graham, an American dancer, choreographer, and pioneer of modern dance, can be considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Her statement about how we each have a unique life force and energy to express is one of my most favorite quotes of all times. May it offer you inspiration and motivation...

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open." - Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991)

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.You do not have to walk on your kneesFor a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.You only have to let the soft animal of your bodylove what it loves.Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.Meanwhile the world goes on.Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rainare moving across the landscapes,over the prairies and the deep trees,the mountains and the rivers.Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,are heading home again.Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,the world offers itself to your imagination,calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —over and over announcing your placein the family of things.

Using the ACT Matrix to sort through thoughts, feelings, and body sensations is often a very useful way to get some distance from whatever is hooking or triggering us, and reminds us to expand our awareness to remember the people and things we care about most. Taking a moment to pause and sort through what you are experiencing onto an ACT Matrix can be very useful in discovering and taking more effective action that moves us toward the life we want. If you'd like to learn how to use this powerful tool to build a more meaningful and satisfying life, let's meet! You can book an appointment online here. For BeDoThrive clients and those who have experience with the ACT Matrix, please feel free to click on the image to download a .pdf for your personal use.

That's it! I invite you to give this simple practice a try any time to insert a break in the action, and create a small space to choose a new direction. You might set a timer and experiment breathing in this way for a minute or two and see what happens.

What do you notice during and after this practice? Body sensations? Thoughts? Emotions?

Are these inner experiences as solid and unchanging as they at first may have appeared? Do any of them ebb and flow and change?

Now that you've taken a quick break, what are you noticing is most important to give your attention to next in this day?

“Mr. James Duffy… lived at a little distance from his body.” (James Joyce, 1914) Do you ever feel like Mr. Duffy? Out of touch with your body? Because our body sensations fundamentally influence our behavior, when we are cut-off from our body, we miss an enormous amount of useful information and may end up habitually reactive, irritable, and unsatisfied with our lives… a shadow of the human being that we have the potential to be. So how do we reconnect our body and mind?

Good news! Creating and sustaining an awareness of the body is a skill that can be learned and developed. The Body Scan is a foundational Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practice that guides you through noticing the sensations of life that are happening in your body in the present moment. It can be a wonderful practice to help calm and gather the mind, and to help you focus and anchor on your experience right now, in this moment. The Body Scan can be a very helpful practice in training your mind to wake up from what might be a habitual, and potentially very stressful, trance of constant thinking.

I invite you to try this body scan practice once a day for a few days, and to notice any effects. You might not notice anything new, however, you might experience all sorts of welcome changes in your life!

You may notice you are able to more easily fall asleep at night, or that you feel more connected to others. You may notice that your chronic pain diminishes a little bit with daily attention. You may find that you have more patience with others and an enhanced ability to deal effectively with irritable people and frustrating situations. You may experience clearer focus, and enhanced decision making and productivity. And possibly you will notice that your world simply seems a bit more beautiful and enjoyable.

The Body Scan Introduction is 2 minutes long and the Body Scan Meditation runs for 23 minutes. Enjoy!

(This Body Scan practice was adapted from the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli and recorded by Cathryn Campbell. More life enhancing practices by Jon Kabat-Zinn, including a 45 minute Body Scan practice, can be found at http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/)

Poetry never really interested me until I heard this poem by Rumi read aloud at a mindfulness retreat. I was struck by Rumi's profound illumination of our inner world, and amused and struck by his advice on how to be in relationship with the myriad of diverse activity, and reactivity, that our human brains constantly produce.

I invite you to read this poem and maybe even try reading it aloud. What does this poem bring up for you? When is the last time you noticed the various "guests" visiting your mind? When you do notice your thoughts and feelings happening, how do you treat them? Do you invite them in, welcome and entertain them? Or, do you notice that you usually shut the door tight and try to keep them out?

I invite you to experiment with noticing the activity of your inner world (thoughts, emotions, body sensations, stories, memories) and inviting it all in (for a moment), allowing it all to be here now, just as it is. How might you let these "guests" guide you in the next action you take today?

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,some momentary awareness comesas an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,who violently sweep your houseempty of its furniture,still, treat each guest honorably.He may be clearing you outfor some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.because each has been sentas a guide from beyond.

If you are interested in learning to meditate, I highly recommend Andy Puddicombe’s Headspace website (www.headspace.com) and mobile/tablet app. Headspace combines instruction on calming and insight meditation (also known as mindfulness meditation) and is completely non-religious – you won’t be asked to chant mantras, burn incense or even sit cross-legged. Headspace offers a high quality and FREE “Take 10" program which teaches you meditation basics in 10 mins a day over the course of 10 days.